Kindergarten Cop

So I have survived my first week here at Stone Kindergarten. It has been a challenging, but good week at the school. For those who do not know, I am teaching 5-6 year old children English at a very rich kindergarten here in Tangshan, The school is very clean and would be just as nice if not better than any kindergarten back in the US.

I currently teach 6 different half hour classes each week and 3 one hour special classes four of the five days . I see each of the half hour classes 3 times a week and I teach them with this goofy interactive software called Kid Brown English. It basically is a half hour lesson of dancing around and getting the kids to participate. For the most part it is fairly simple, and the kids are like little parrots who will mimic everything you do or say. We also bribe them with stickers for participating and that always works. The special classes are 1 hour each and there is a loose lesson plan they give me that I must follow, but use our own teaching aids and games to get the kids involved. I do like the special class, but 3 in a day is a lot of work. I have two at the end of the day and 5:30p class is always just ready to go home, so it is very challenging to keep 5-6 year olds motivated for an hour. Also, thinking of new games every week I know is going to be a challenge, but we will see how it goes.

My first couple days of teaching was very challenging because I am completely new to this and my boss Amanda in a way expected me to be the best right away. Monday she followed me to each class critiquing every little thing, which was very nerve racking. By lunchtime, I had to have a beer. Luckily, my roommate Craig and my friend Eric kept me motivated and explained this happens to everyone starting out. My boss is nice, but unfortunately her English vocabulary is very limited and the Chinese are very blunt, so instead of "you did A, B, and C well, but you need to improve here." it was more "you forgot A, B, C, and do better." This was very frustrating. Hwoever, the end of the day Amanda and the principle took me and Craig out to a great dinner. It was very relieving and helped me get through the stress.

As the week went on, I started to be more comfortable with the kids. My lesson plans went well and my boss Amanda even gave me some great compliments! Working with kids every day is a lot of fun, but tiring. However, they always bring a smile to me. The kids are always happy to see me, which is a good feeling when going to a job. I also get to be myself and goofy while getting paid for it.

Here are some pictures of the park where my school is and some pictures of my office and lobby. It took them on a Saturday so the school looks empty, but it gives you an idea of the place.  I will be off to Beijing next Saturday with some friends, and I am very excited to experience the city. Until next time. Enjoy!